[Man of Confiden]

Intro/My Thoughts!!



Alright I have to be honest, I'm not very experienced nor excessively good when it comes to bboying. I've been doin it for 4 or 5 months off and on (obviously outdated now haha), and in that time I have worked on nothing but tops and footwork. I did freezes every now and then, worked on turtle spins a lil bit, but mostly footwork and tops. Honestly, i'm in love with the idea of footwork! So I've taken it upon myself to create a resource where we can discuss and answer common questions regarding footwork! This has been done before a few threads below me, but they are basically dead. I want to make one that will live on and help many in the future!!

For starters, footwork isn't something you can develop well in just a few months. The whole concept is so intricate it is ridiculous. The moves are, for the most part, excessively simple. Putting them together is the hardest part! That being said, it is real easy to get frustrated with your footwork. It's happened to me a few times, and i know that everyone in here has gone through the same thing. Footwork requires style, musicality, and fluid movement in order to look good. The number of movements available is virtually unlimited, and that is probably the most exciting part about footwork itself. Anyway just sharing my thoughts on footwork, on with some common questions!!




Things People Always Seem to Ask


1. What moves should I learn?? This seems to be a very common question. When it comes to footwork, the first thing you should learn is the six step. The six step is literally the foundation for any footwork you will do! Do yourself a big favor and learn it both ways. After that I would highly suggest the 3 step and then the 12 step, as both of those will get you used to being fluid and twisting your hips. Learn whatever you like after that! In my opinion I wouldn't worry about the 5 , 7, or wutever else step after those....unless you really really want to learn them. I wuld go learn some footwork techs to help with variety.

Note: If you are serious about your footwork, you should learn ALL foundational steps. This includes the 2,3,4,5,6,7,12 step. While all of these are based off the six step, the 3 and 12 step for example feel substantially different. Whether you use them regularly or not, it makes no difference. You should practice them regardless, because they all help you understand foundational movements and elements of footwork. For example, how to twist your hips, good body position, smooth transitions, angles, etc. In the future this will immensely help you and creating more intricate footwork of your own. To summarize it nicely, learn all you can about footwork if your truly serious about it, which is what this thread is about. Thanks Zeshenone for your input!

2. Where can I find guide(s) for (insert footwork tech/step here)??? First I suggest you check out the stickied threads! The "Footwork beyond 6-step" thread is a generally great resource. You could try google video or youtube search also. Be warned that because footwork is so intricate and dynamic, there are very few good guides out there floating around on the internet. Most of the time your just going to have to watch it being done and try your best to replicate it. If you screw up, then you might make something cool up in the process! If your dieing for some guides tho, check out "Storms Footwork Fundamentals" DVD...or something like that! Here's a good place to start, be sure to thank Ringer!!


3. My footwork sucks, help!!! Aight so that is not really a question, but its said a lot. Look really the only thing you can do is slow down and practice. Like I said before, footwork aint made all great in a month, or even a few months...hell even a year! It takes a lot of time and effort. Do your steps slowly and as fluid as you can. Eventually it'll get cleaner, and then you can put some style into it. You ok now haha??

4. How do you get footwork like (insert famous bboy here)?? First of all, you should be getting footwork that fits you, not sumbody else. Not to mention there are no guides to someone's style of footwork. Their style is theirs and theirs alone. Now if you want to know how to get footwork as smooth as them, or as clean as them, then that just takes years of practice.

5. How does my footwork look?? Oh yeah, the critique question!! There really aint much to say here, but I will say one thing. If you put up your vid for critique, expect critique! Dont put it up expecting everyone is going to praise your "uber godly" footwork. Chances are good that there's something wrong with it, and chances are better that someone here will be able to tell you whats up. Don't be an arrogant asshole and take offense to every critique you get. If you don't want critique, don't put up a video.

Whew...those a few common questions I've seen pop up here time and time again. If you have any more questions/answers you wanna add, let me kno and I will add it in, along with credit to your name. Now on to general tips!




Footwork Tips and Tricks For a Footwork Fix(say that ten times fast haha)

Alright you wouldn't be here unless you are either in love with footwork, or you're trying to get it good because some guy told you that you have no style. Either way this running list of tips and suggestions should help your footwork get that much better.

*Practice without music first! This will give you time to worry about the move and not the beat.


*When doing a new move (or practicing an old one), do it slowly first. If you can find a mirror and watch your technique as your doing the movements. Concentrate on making it as clean as possible. Over time gradually increase your speed without losing technique. This helps develop clean and fast footwork.


*Learn footwork both ways. Nothing is more boring than watching someone go in a circle for 30 seconds haha. You want to be able to switch directions, or fake like your going to switch directions. This keeps your footwork dynamic, interesting, and just plain dope!


*Do footwork on the inner knuckles of your hand! Palm should be raised, fingers should be on the ground. You've probably heard this thousands and thousands of times. Now thats not to say that you can't do footwork on your palms! But doing it on your fingers is generally more smooth, cleaner, and helps develop wrist strength. It will hurt at first, but you'll get used to it. Oh and if you get blisters/callouses on the inner knuckles of your hand, ur doing it right !

Note: Fire pointed out sumthin pretty important that i had overlooked. For some ppl, it is more natural and fluid to do footwork on their palms. This culd be due to weak wrists, inflexible fingers, or that they jus find it easier that way. If that is the case with you, do footwork on your palms! The finger thing is merely a suggestion, but either is perfectly fine.


*Don't do footwork flat on your feet! Please please please don't do footwork flat footed!! You can't get any real speed and crispiness being flat flooted. Stay on your toes so you can switch directions quickly and efficiently. Besides your toes, the side of your foot (Towards the toes) and the side of your heel should touch the ground. You should never be flat footed!


*Don't sag your hips!! It looks fugly...and you'll have a hard time keepin speed that way. Keep your hips raised and life will be much better for you. If you don't believe me, do continuous switches/CCs with sagged hips and tell me how it works out for you. My guess is...it's gonna be hard to transfer from one side to another .


*Extend!! Don't walk itty bitty small circles around yourself. Every movement in your footwork should be clear-cut and defined, so really extend those steps! It will look a lot better trust me!

Note: At the same time be careful to not overextend yourself! Remember, your walking circles around yourself and not the planet ! Thanks Jp for bringing that important bit info up!

Note2: Zeshenone on extension and body movement!


*Move more than just your feet!! It's called footwork, but you should be moving more than just your feet and occasionally your arms. In order to develop speed, you need to know how to twist those hips...so twist em!! Nuthin shuld be half assed, so throw your all into it!


*Do drills!! I am speakin from personal experience when I say this: Drills are essential!! Not only does it build your endurance, but it helps you learn small combos of moves that much faster!! The insane amount of repetition makes the movements more natural too! So if your not doing drills, start doin them!


*Watch vids for inspiration!! Footwork is all about creativity, and I firmly believe that there can't be creation without inspiration. Very rarely is sumthin created from nuthin, if ever. So watch videos, get some ideas, and try them out on the floor! This is probably the most exciting part about footwork, especially when u come up with sumthin u like!


*Do a little toprockin before you start on your footwork! Toprock and footwork often go hand in hand. They are like husband and wife, peanut butter and jelly, turkey and cheese, waffles and syrup, and err...well u get da point. So you want to practice toprock whenever you can. You don't have to do it excessively long, but at least use it as a warm up! After all, footwork is basically rockin...but on the ground.


*Make each step clear!! This is very very important. Anyone can move their feet in a blur and have it look kinda sorta cool. That kind of thang can get props from a non bboy crowd, but if you pull stuff like that out in a battle your gonna get burnt extra crispy! Every step should be clear and defined. Goin fast is good, but not if you look like your havin spasms on the floor.


*Take breaks from footwork every once in a while! It sounds weird, but hear me out. Once you've been workin on footwork for a while, you'll hit a plateau. Basically you won't feel like your getting any better, and your creativity will feel shot. Thats when u put footwork down for a while and work on sumthin else. Maybe power since it's likely you havent been focusin on that much . I know I know...it pains you to "spin on your head"...it hurts me too haha. Naw im playin, but seriously give it a break for a little bit, and then pick it up again. More often than not you'll have a breakthrough!


*Experiment! This should go without saying. Take one of the moves you first learned, and try to change it or alter it to make it stand out. Let's take the 12 step for example. Now instead of bein on your hands you can try laying on your forearms, or even rotating on your elbows! Or you could lower your knees to the ground so it looks like they are kind of gliding. Always take old moves and spice em up....it helps make your footwork different from everyone else's!


*Practice those freezes!! Wait what?? Did I just say that?? Your probably are sittin there like "WTF this is about footwork"....but let's be real. You can't jus go out, throw down some sick tops, bust out some hella ill footwork, and then end ur set wit some shitty freeze. That is just shameful! Not to mention freezes can help you transition into more footwork! Imagine that ...so practice them dammit!!


*Use power for transitions! I know its another WTF moment. Believe it or not some power moves are just awesome for footwork! The mills are a great one off the top of my head. Flares are aight i guess...i haven't seen a dope flare transition into footwork so i don't know! Trust me tho, work on that transitional power when ur on a break from footwork .


*Practice with shoes!! There's a huge difference between bein barefoot and havin shoes on. The weight difference may not seem very big, but once you start doin footwork it becomes obvious. So always always always practice with shoes on, because that is what you'll be wearing most of the time (i hope lol). Oh and if your asian then...well...practice outside :P!


*Use mirrors or a video camera! It is a lot easier to critique yourself when you can actually see what your doin...nuff said!


*Don't look at your feet!! This is hard....really hard. Mirrors or a video camera help a lot, since it forces you to look up! But lookin down shows a lack of confidence, and it will really kill the vibe of your set. You can do it!

Note: Exzeliur used a hella tight analogy to explain what im talkin about, so here goes: "....Kinda like a basketball player: Basketball players don't look at their hands when they're playing because it's not the ball bouncing that's their target, but rather the basket that they must get the ball in. You can tell that a person looking at the ball bouncing on that hand is not as good as one who knows their target and looks up while dribbling the ball."



*Put steps your comfortable with to music! Aight this is all about learnin how to ride the beat. Concentrate on the bass and snare first...those are the only two beats u shuld try hittin. Then as you get better u can try listenin out for the high hat, or even the horns. Play with it a bit! Remember, footwork is basically toprockin, except its on the ground. Thats kinda why its called downrockin !


*Brush up on those drops!! Seein as how ur probably gonna have sick toprock n' footwork, u definitely want an ill way to hit the floor. Hit up the drops forum for some nice ideas...or make some of your own. Either way, make it stylish. Drops can even be incorporated into the middle of your footwork, like the footwork+stand up+knee drop combo.


*Don't limit yourself to the floor!! This kinda goes off of what i was saying about the drops. Don't just stay on the floor and walk in circles forever. U can try stuff like poppin yourself into an airthread+drop, or even standin up and spinning down....there's tons of stuff you can do that will spice up your footwork! The same way you drop durin toprockin, you pop up durin footwork!


*Make mini-sets!! Most of your footwork will be freestyled...or at least it better be. But that doesn't mean that you can't make little combos that you can bust whenever you want! It's always good to have a few footwork combos down so that you can freestyle them into your downrock. That way you can keep yourself from being repetitive.


*Be Creative (courtesy of RingerInc)!! "A good idea to inventing some of your own steps is to think about the different positions that you can be in during footwork. Pushup, crab, bridge, kneedrop, cc, etc. And think of different ways to link each of these positions. Create simple motions that you can use to either link different steps together or create your own little steps." Thanks Ringer!


*Stay in shape (courtesy of Jp and his 3 step guide sticky!!) Aight bboyin shuld keep you pretty in shape unless ur gettin lazy on me!! It is a good idea to do some good endurance exercises tho! Work ur muscle endurance and your cardiovascular endurance! I can't go into too much detail but check out the "how to get in shape" thread or google it for some exercises. Runnin long distances or jump ropin is good for cardiovascular...while plyometrics or sprints are good for muscle endurance.

Note: Hey check out some more fitness details from this post by LazyAss (ironic aint it)!

Note2: Yo this Footwork Stamina Drill by MaDD is ill, peep it!


*Transtitions, Transitions, Tran-frickin-sitions (courtesy of Ragincajunasian)!! Aight so u got a few moves! But what sets ur footwork apart from everyone else's is how u put em together!! Don't just do the moves, but constantly think how many different ways u can transition from one step to the next. For a more detailed explanation check this out!!


*Get a notebook (from da Ziveeman)!! Whenever you come up with something, write it down in your notebook. This way you can review your stuff and you won't forget it. You have no idea how many times I came up with something but I forgot it because I didn't write it down. When you're at a jam or practice, you can just look at the notebook to remember your footwork stuff. It helps a lot. You don't even need a big notebook, one of those pocket notebooks will suffice.





(more to be added)



Battle Tips(more comin soon)


*Have an arsenal of moves ready(courtesy of Exzeliur)!! Especially when you're hitting up your first battle, you wanna make sure that you have a few sets in your arsenal that you've been working on. If you repeat these sets over and over during practice, not only will you look much cleaner when you're battling, but your form will improve because of the repeated practicing of those sets. Don't expect to walk in there and think that you've practiced enough, and that you can freestyle your flow and come out victorious. If you walk in there without an action plan you will NOT win. Check out other b-boys on YouTube or some other video site. You'll notice a few of their sets are repeated because they can easily fall back on those.


*RESPOND(Exzeliur again)! Dyzee told me this, and I think this is an absolutely CRITICAL point in battling: Respond to your opponent's set. If he busts out a quick six-step, followed by other quick footwork techs, drops down to a chair freeze and BAM, an airchair, you can't just go in there and bust some toprocking and then an invert! Think about it this way, if you were to say, "Yo, how you doin', man?" and I were to reply "SHORYUKEN!", not only does it have absolutely no relevance to the question being asked, but there was no point for you to say that. For sure when you're starting out you can't do much, and that is understandable. But once you get more battle experience and practice time down, the next time you see that guy busting out that same set that knocked you off the last battle, you can respond with faster footwork, more unique techs, then jump back to an airchair, and hold that bitch! Trust, there's nothing better and more disheartening to your opponent then to realize that you can do a set they practice so much on, stronger, faster, and better.


*Crew support(Exzeliur is on a roll)! Nothing better than your crew cheering for you when you're busting a move. Cheer 'em on, bust out a soul clap, whatever you need to do to get crew morale up. The guy/girl will feel much better with the encouragement, thereby increasing confidence in their moves, and therefore sticking their moves with greater efficiency.


*Save the best for last(Exzeliur for da last time)! Don't bust out the best of your arsenal all in one set. What're you gonna do next? Battling is also strategy. Take out some of your moves here and there and see how your opponent dances/responds. If you really need to, bring out your stronger moves to better ensure a win for that battle. When you're battling somebody real good, or you're in the finals, then bring out your A-game.


*Have presence! This is huuuuge....no joke. If u don't have presence on the dance floor then u might as well jus pack your things and book it out of there. Not only do you want your opponent to feel u, but u want da crowd to feel u too. Wherever you are, that place shuld be filled wit ur vibe! That means be high energy, and most importantly bring out your battle persona big time. Put all ur personality and flavor into each and every set! Its absolutely crucial!


*Know how to freestyle! Don't get me wrong..its good to have lil mini sets jus in case u need an emergency bail out....but freestylin is the way to go! It allows u to play wit each and every song that comes on, any tempo, and it makes u lethal in terms of unpredictability and versatility! That in turn allows you to respond to anything ur opponent throws out, like what was mentioned above!


*Burn em! There's nuttin sweeter than hearin a crowd screamin "OOOHHHH!" after you completely burn sumbody! Not to mention it forces your opponent to try to respond to it jus to stay in the game. What helps is to try and pick out sumthin weird or quirky about ur opponent or his style! When its ur turn to throw down, burn him at the appropriate time! Maybe he bounces too much, struggled with a freeze, or has a wack toprock. Single out his weakness and burn him wit it, wutever it is!


*Beware the pissing contest! I have seen this many many times, and it has rarely turned out well. Remember the tip about responding to your opponent's set? Well here is the ugly side of it, and one you need to avoid. The pissing contest. Long story short, dont try to match your opponent move for move. If he ends with an airchair, that doesn't mean go out and do an airchair immediately after that. Same goes for just about whatever he ends/begins with. Because believe me, if you crash, or lose the pissing contest...you will look like a damned fool. If you win, it'll sway the crowd but maybe not the judges. Respond, but not tit for tat. Just not worth it.


*Keep your cool! It is very easy to lose it mentally in a battle, especially when your opponent just threw a sick blow up in your face. Once you hear that "OHHHH" it can feel like you already lost. The best advice I can give is to stay calm, and do what you know you can do. Just do your thing. Don't worry about trying to get a bigger "OH", unless you know 110% under any and all conditions that you can top it. Judges will be able to tell if something like that got to you, so don't spend you're entire set focusing on beating that ONE blowup. Let it go, and just do what you do very well. If you are against someone who is obviously a lot better than you, do NOT show or harbor a lack of confidence. Easier said than done, but do not concede before the match even begins. Its all in the mind bboys and bgirls.



This Week's Discussion


*Go with the flow! In your own words describe flow. Is it moves? Transitions into moves? Combination of both? How does flow apply to music and your overall ability as a bboy. Would you consider it to be crucial or of great importance? Also, are there different ways of flowing?


As always feel free to ask different questions not pertaining to this, however, I always like to have a topic out there to get young minds thinking. This isn't school, so don't be obliged to answer every question. Just analyze the concept of "flow" for a minute, and tell us what you think.












This is a work in progress! I hope this can help at least some of you! Please if you wanna add anything to this just post it up!! I'll give you credit and add to the list. Let's make this a great resource for everyone, along with the stickied guides up top. I'm hoping that this won't die, because i truly love footwork. Anyway thats it for now...peace out girl scouts!

[zeshenone]

I want to say something about practicing footwork moves. You SHOULD learn all the foundational steps. 2,3,4,5,6,7,8, 12, everything, AND all foundational techs, cicis, shuffles, BOTH WAYS, and most importantly practice going from one step into another step through a tech. ex. 6 step cici into 3 step, or 2 step swipe into 6 step, coffee grinder into spindle, zulu spin into 4 step, etc. trust me, it will NEVER make you worse if you take the time to learn all of it and practice the transitions and form. the point is to be able to get so natural with it that you can come up with extremely intricate combinations on the spot.

also, although you can say it's all based on the six step, a three step feels substantially different. however, steps such as the four step and seven step involve a very subtle change from the six step that only looks good with the precise angles. there's a reason why these foundational steps are the foundation, and you don't see a half-legged 6 and 3/4th step on the list, because they help you understand the fundamental mechanics of footwork. by undestanding what makes footwork flow and make it look good, (ex. body positioning, body form, when is a good time to shift weight in a certain step, when's a good time to turn the body during a certain step, etc.) you can make up very creative variations/your own moves that flow a lot better with the rest of your footwork than if you just start off with a six step and coffee grinder.

my point is, this thread IS about getting good at FOOTWORK. as in, you want to SPECIALIZE in it. in that case, you should absolutely learn EVERYTHING about it, there's no reason to leave any aspect of it out.

[Man of Confiden]

Edited the guide...thanks a lot man!! Ya input is hella appreciated!

[RingerINC]

My guides got links to many a footwork thing...

And i like the idea of a general considerations for footwork as a whole.

[Man of Confiden]

nice...i'm gonna link up your guide then !

[bnewbie]

very nice and well done I like the different colors it makes it colorful

It's alive It's alive!!!!! Gets slapped


Throw in ur own shit dont just do the basic steps because ur going to look like everyone else do some dumb shit that looks retarded at first but then can incorporate in ur footwork Watch Born from korea he does all this weird things like some freezes in the middle of his 6 step and he combines spins with footwork

[L.F.S.W.]

This should be stickied.

[Man of Confiden]

Thanks a lot for all da support guys !

[VicValSwift]

Yo ferreal.. this is a nice.. guide? (if you can call it that, haha). I'ma bookmark this...

Sticky!

[_-=FiRe=-_]

*Do footwork on the inner knuckles of your hand! Palm should be raised, fingers should be on the ground. You've probably heard this thousands and thousands of times. Now thats not to say that you can't do footwork on your palms! But doing it on your fingers is generally more smooth, cleaner, and helps develop wrist strength. It will hurt at first, but you'll get used to it. Oh and if you get blisters/callouses on the inner knuckles of your hand, ur doing it right !

id agree that usually doing fw on ur inner knuckles is for hte best. but some people feel as if its smoother and more natural on their palms (like me, ive tried it for weeks and it never felt right) should stick to that. Im not advocating the exclusion of using ur inner knuckles but after you've tried it, and not just for a day or even a week. But after weeks or a few months of fwing on your fingertips/inner knuckles you could consider reverting to palm fw instead if you feel it suits you better. i mean ive seen plenty of bboys with good palm fw.

just a thought, good job tho

[Man of Confiden]

U know Fire i had completely overlooked dat. I added that in as a note, thanks! Keep those thoughts comin guys...if this list gets big enuff (and its constantly growing) then i'm gonna have to categorize the tips soon.

[_-=FiRe=-_]

i swear...this needs a sticky

[AlphaTrion]

One of the better guides I've seen in the footwork forum. Good work.

You've gotten a lot of the same points I try to cram into the heads of anyone I teach.

Footwork definitely isn't something that should be taken lightly. You could devote an entire b-boy career to footwork and still never work out all the things that are possible with it.

I'll try and come up with some more pointers later on to add.

[RingerINC]

Hahaha i can't believe fire sigged that...

Oh and i need to fix up my guide, but when i do i'll strap a link in with this in it.

[Man of Confiden]

I'm runnin out of ideas for the tips section...i add em as they come to me! Anybody got anythang they wanna see up there? Or any suggestions for the layout of the guide in general haha?